Gangsters' attorneys question jailed witness's motives

WHITE PLAINS — Attorneys for a pair of Newburgh gangsters questioned a key witness's motives on Thursday in federal court and raised questions about the 2008 murder of 15-year-old Jeffrey Zachary.

BY DOYLE MURPHY

WHITE PLAINS — Attorneys for a pair of Newburgh gangsters questioned a key witness's motives on Thursday in federal court and raised questions about the 2008 murder of 15-year-old Jeffrey Zachary.

Carlos "King Tone" Ortiz spent his second day testifying against his former bosses in the Newburgh Latin Kings. Ortiz, a 22-year-old high school dropout, had helped prosecutors guide jurors through a series of recordings, including jailhouse phone calls between members of the gang and defendants Wilson "King Gunz" Pagan and Christian "King Chi Chi" Sanchez. Ortiz identified the speakers in the recordings and explained street vocabulary to jurors who otherwise might have never heard a gun called a "ratchet" or a "blickie."

In a jailhouse phone call in November 2009, an incarcerated Pagan talks with a subordinate about another member who was suspected of snitching.

"Yo, if the guy is no good, you know what you have to do," Pagan says. "You know what I'm saying?"

Ortiz was arrested in February 2011 on narcotics and weapons charges. Sanchez's attorney, Anthony Strazza, questioned Ortiz about the months after his arrest. A woman Ortiz considers his wife was pregnant with the couple's second child, and he faced a maximum of life in prison.

"You wanted to get back to your family, right?" Strazza asked.

"Yes," Ortiz said.

"To your wife?"

"Yes."

Ortiz eventually made a deal that could allow him to walk out of jail when he's sentenced. Defense attorneys have argued witnesses such as Ortiz have plenty of motivation to say whatever they think will get them out of prison. The attorneys tried to reinforce that theme on Thursday.

Pagan's attorney, Carl Herman, also questioned Ortiz about the killing of Zachary. Pagan faces charges he and other gang leaders ordered their underlings to shoot a rival Blood member on Dubois Street. Zachary was killed in an apparent case of mistaken identity. Herman asked if it was true a Latin King named Jose "King Gordo" Lagos was really the one behind the order, instructing a pair of low-ranking members to shoot a Blood called "Bless" in retribution for the January 2009 murder of Lagos's older brother, Brian "B-Bugz" Triminio.

Ortiz's wife had loaned her car to her boyfriend at the time, Joshua Torres, in the fatal drive-by, but Ortiz said all he knew of the killing was what he heard second-hand. Ortiz said Herman's scenario didn't match what he'd heard.